Safe mortgage approval rate & lending review
Safe decided 2,697 mortgage applications and funded 2,424 loans across the 616 counties Fat Boy Data covers, 2023–2025.
These are the decisions Safe reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, not its advertised interest rates.
Safe at a glance
Approval is 17.2 points above the 73.7% national rate for the same mix of loan types.
Approval rates by loan type
| Loan type | Approval | Approved | Taken up | Typical loan | Loans made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage lenders | 98% | 1,030 / 1,053 | 99% | $585K | 1,017 |
| Home improvement loans | 85% | 1,051 / 1,231 | 99% | $65K | 1,040 |
| Cash-out refinance | 91% | 270 / 297 | 99% | $115K | 268 |
| Refinance | 91% | 39 / 43 | 100% | $225K | 39 |
| Investment property purchase | 92% | 44 / 48 | 100% | $445K | 44 |
Safe lending by state
| State | Approval | Typical loan | Decided | Loans made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 91% | $115K | 2,697 | 2,424 |
Fat Boy Data covers 616 counties, 79.6% of the US population, not every county in every state. States with fewer than 20 decisions are not listed.Methodology.
Where Safe lends most
| County | Loan type | Approval | Decided | Loans made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento County, CA | Home improvement loans | 85% | 751 | 632 |
| Placer County, CA | Mortgage lenders | 99% | 456 | 451 |
| San Joaquin County, CA | Mortgage lenders | 98% | 281 | 266 |
| Placer County, CA | Home improvement loans | 87% | 303 | 262 |
| Sacramento County, CA | Mortgage lenders | 94% | 183 | 169 |
| Sacramento County, CA | Cash-out refinance | 92% | 180 | 163 |
| Placer County, CA | Cash-out refinance | 92% | 78 | 72 |
| El Dorado County, CA | Home improvement loans | 78% | 65 | 50 |
| El Dorado County, CA | Mortgage lenders | 100% | 49 | 49 |
| Yolo County, CA | Home improvement loans | 97% | 33 | 32 |
| Placer County, CA | Investment property purchase | 100% | 23 | 23 |
The county markets where Safe made the most loans. Each link opens that market with every lender ranked.
Questions about Safe
What is Safe's mortgage approval rate?
Safe approved 90.8% of the 2,697 mortgage applications it decided across the 616 counties Fat Boy Data covers, 2023–2025, 17.2 points above the 73.7% national rate for the same mix of loan types.
How often do borrowers take the loan Safe offers?
Borrowers accepted 99% of the loans Safe approved, against 93% for all home improvement loan lenders nationally. A low take-up usually means the approved terms were not competitive.
What size loans does Safe make?
The typical home improvement loan loan Safe made was $65K; across all loan types its typical loan ran from $65K to $585K. HMDA reports amounts in $10,000 brackets, so these are midpoints.
Where does Safe lend?
Safe decided applications in 1 of the states Fat Boy Data covers, most of them in California.
Can I apply to Safe directly?
Yes. Safe is a bank or credit union with 40 branches in the FDIC and NCUA registries, and it takes mortgage applications directly.
Does this page show Safe's interest rates?
No. HMDA filings record who applied, who was approved and how much was borrowed, not the rate offered. Use the approval rate and take-up here to judge how Safe treats applications, then get a rate quote from the lender.